Positives and Negatives as U.S. Men Defeat Venezuela

After battling to a scoreless draw through 96 minutes of play, the U.S. finally broke through in the 97th minute as Ricardo Clark headed home and the U.S. earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Venezuela Saturday night.

While many American fans may have struggled to find the game, as it was only televised on Galavision and ESPN3, there were a multitude of positives and negatives to take out of the game.

The U.S. May Be a Little Deeper at Centre-Back Than Previously Thought

While the centre-back tandem of George John and Omar Gonzalez didn’t emerge as both pulled out of the national team camp to pursue overseas loan opportunities, the centre-back pairing of Geoff Cameron and Michael Parkhurst used by Jurgen Klinsmann looked very good.

It has been a mystery to many U.S. fans as to why both Klinsmann and before him, Bob Bradley, have avoided selecting Parkhurst, who has enjoyed several very good seasons in Europe and the Europa League.

But given the chance on Saturday, Parkhurst showed his quality.

Parkhurst combined with Geoff Cameron, who is coming off a solid MLS season, to provide the U.S. with a remarkably composed back line, working the ball out of the back with clean possession and keeping the Venezuelan attack in check most of the night.

The defensive performance is especially surprising considering that friendlies with hodgepodge lineups, like Saturday night, usually result in chaotic and disorganized defensive efforts.

Hopefully, both men will continue to get looks from Klinsmann once the U.S. returns to its “A” lineup.

Jermaine Jones Had His Best Appearance Yet for the Nats

Jermaine Jones, available only because of his lengthy Bundesliga ban, looked to have a point to prove on Saturday and was solid throughout the match.

Jones provided quick, incisive passing, covered an immense amount of ground, took care of his defensive responsibilities and was the sparkplug for the U.S. all night long.

Several Americans Proved They Are Still Not Ready for the “A” Team

As is typical for the January friendlies, when the top Americans playing in Europe are not available, the squad was comprised of many players on the fringe of the national team.

Teal Bunbury and Graham Zusi were active all night, but both lacked the final touch, final pass or finishing quality to truly impact the game.

C.J. Sapong, Bunbury’s teammate with Sporting Kansas City, in only 15 minutes of play, looked to be much more threatening in his short stint than Bunbury had all night.

Ricardo Clark, despite scoring the game-winner, lost the ball multiple times in the defensive and middle thirds, despite only playing the final 30 minutes—bringing back flashbacks of his disastrous giveaway in the Ghana game of the 2010 World Cup.

Klinsmann’s 4-3-3 Needs to Go

In seven of Klinsmann’s eight games in charge, he has used a 4-3-3, resulting in a whopping three goals. In the one game he deployed a 4-4-2 (albeit more of a 4-1-2-1-2) against Slovenia, the U.S. scored the same number in a 3-2 win.

While the 4-3-3 presents an opportunity for creative play and passing, the U.S. midfielders and forwards end up spread too wide to effectively penetrate opposing defenses, resulting in a severe lack of scoring opportunities.  

It should be obvious to everyone by now, especially Klinsmann, that the U.S. plays best with two strikers.

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